I Went to see “Palestine 36,” no easy feat considering the meager opportunity. But to my surprise, there were maybe 30 people in the audience, even at a morning showing. Glancing around, I saw that almost all were clustered in the back rows, maybe having come as a group – and pro-Palestinian, not just movie-lovers seeing a 100%-rated film.
Very competent film despite some problems. One difficulty was a bit of a problem distinguishing between some of the many characters; despite very good efforts to make several of them visually distinctive, names are rarely used. And not really a narrative arc. It covers a particular period from 1936-1937 - I suspect it might be more meaningful if I knew the history - which seems to be from when Israeli arrivals became a problem to when Palestinians started to really push back against a brutal British crack-down. That there is a woman director, Annemarie Jacir, may account for the intimate, human focus.
It’s so unremittingly pro-Palestinian that it’s hard to trust most of its effort to arouse sympathy. But I’m guessing that some things are factual, and that was enlightening if true. In particular, it implies that the regional problem may be traced to the marked uptick in Jewish refugees beginning around 1936, due to the rise of Hitler. If the Palestinians had any fierce desire for an independent state, they should have brought it up to the British in 1919 – but maybe there wasn’t a problem then. They certainly aren’t depicted as particularly energetic or forward-thinking. It was only toward the end of the movie when I realized that it shows almost no Israelis - in the movie, the hostility is toward the British, and the brutality and intransigence is British as well. Does anyone know the true history?
Interesting and worthwhile.
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/palestine_36